A little video from today. I'm not proficient in video making so be gentle. Plus, it was cold *** hell out there. I'm glad I still got my fingertips. Alright people, let me know what I could have done better.
AMC Headquarters Detroit, MI
DJI
Air 2s / ND Filter 8
OK- Firstly, there was no need for me to be "gentle." You did a very fine job. And aside from the typo error, the film was well done. I agree with all of the comments- Even at 3:00 minutes, which seems to be the gold standard for length in this forum, it seemed long. As I say often, in critiquing these films, "Less is More." I found your exposures right on, especially fighting that low afternoon western sun. Despite that, you were able to capture the details in the shadows and deep recesses of the buildings.
Aside from the film, I think that many people watching this film, and especially, those not United States born, might not know the story of the downfall of AMC, American Motors Company. This film is a sad commentary on how the once powerful United States auto industry building is now just a relic of abandoned buildings. There was a day, once, when they made the proud Nash Rambler, so I Googled it for those who want to know the rest of the story.
The Old AMC Headquarters Is A Derelict Reminder Of Detroit’s Complicated History With Itself And Automakers
The 56-acre complex, along with the few other older automotive sites still standing are the few remnants that remain of what made Detroit the ‘Motor City’
Screenshot: LordExplores, Youtube (
Other)
On my drives home from Detroit (in the days when I physically worked downtown), I would constantly seek out new routes, partly to avoid the godawful commutes on I-75, I-94 or the Lodge, but also to see what I could find of Detroit’s automotive past. Sure, these buildings haven’t been in operation in my lifetime, but they were the foundations of what created the Motor City, and I was always delighted to at least see them for myself.
Unfortunately, not all of these relics and links to the city’s past are meant to survive far into this 21st century. While some automakers are investing in or making moves to return to Detroit, many have left or are defunct. And some of the buildings those companies left behind remain derelict–awaiting their total demise.
Now on the chopping block for demolition, as
reported by The Detroit News, is the American Motors Corporation’s corporate headquarters.
According to this building biography from
Architectural Afterlife, the 56-acre site and 1.5 million-square-foot building was originally built for Kelvinator back in the late 1920s as a three-story factory and office complex (which you can see clearly from the road)—with a power plant in the back.
The headquarters actually remained in operation until 2009, when Chrysler(which bought AMC in 1987) moved the final 900 employees to offices in Auburn Hills, a Detroit suburb. Like a lot of these buildings, the
AMC headquarters was operational more recently than I thought.
Catalytic Converter Thieves Opened Fire When A Car Owner Tried To Stop Them
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is not a fan, saying the old headquarters is a contributing “ruin porn” site that the city is “sick of looking at.”
Considering the building’s massive size and the sweeping acreage it occupies in the city, I get it. It was built to house massive, booming manufacturing operations. Detroit has no shortage of factory space, no shortage of cool old buildings that would require massive investments to be made operational again. But absent a resurgence in manufacturing, what would you even do with a building like this?
Unfortunately, the old
Packard Plant is also in line for demolition, with Duggan saying an announcement is coming soon.
It’s a shame, especially considering Ford’s ongoing efforts to rescue and rehabilitate Michigan Central Station. Other automotive buildings like
The Rouge plant and The Cadillac Place still find ways to continue operating.
Hopefully some of these other old buildings can hold on long enough to be made useful again.
Dale
from me
